What to watch this long weekend in international sports
A few things for Canadian fans to keep an eye on over the next few days:
Track and field: Canadians in two global meets
The road to the world championships continues Friday in Doha, which is hosting the third Diamond League meet of the season. Two Canadians are competing: sprinter Aaron Brown and pole vaulter Alysha Newman.
Brown is coming off last week's World Athletics Relays in China, where he helped the Olympic-champion Canadian men's 4x100m team take bronze and qualify for the world championships. A bad exchange between Brown, who runs the leadoff leg, and Jerome Blake hurt the Canadians in the final before Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse rallied them from fifth place to the podium.
Brown is in the men's 200m on Friday at 1:22 p.m. ET, featuring Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana.
Newman makes her outdoor season debut in the women's pole vault, starting at 11:02 a.m. ET. The Olympic bronze medallist will take on reigning world champion Katie Moon of the United States, who took silver last year in Paris after winning Olympic gold in 2021.
WATCH | Alysha Newman joins CBC Sports to open up about Olympics, life lessons:
Alysha Newman opens up: Olympic bronze, life lessons, and more
4 months ago
Duration 22:23
Other international stars competing in Doha include reigning Olympic champs Hamish Kerr of New Zealand (men's high jump) and Winfred Yavi of Bahrain (women's 3,000m steeplechase) and 38-year-old Jamaican sprint icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (women's 100m), who owns three Olympic golds and 10 world titles. Watch the meet live Friday from noon-2 p.m. ET on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Here's the full schedule.
De Grasse and Blake are competing in the World Athletics Continental Tour's Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, which will host the world championships in September. Blake faces former world champion Christian Coleman in the men's 100m, while Grasse runs the 200m. Watch the meet live on Saturday night starting at 11:50 p.m. ET on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.
For more on Canada's performance at the World Relays, read this analysis from Morgan Campbell and watch the debut episode of CBC Sports Trackside, with Brown and Rodney joining host Perdita Felicien.
Hockey: Canada levels up at the men's world championship
Let's be honest: there are too many teams in this tournament. Sixteen to be exact, which means an interminable group stage consisting of seven games for each team and tons of mismatches.
For example, Canada (featuring Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Marc-Andre Fleury and several other NHL standouts) blanked France (almost completely devoid of NHLers) 5-0 on Tuesday to improve to 3-0. Before that, Canada beat Slovenia 4-0 and Latvia 7-1. At our publish time, Crosby and company were up 2-1 on Austria in the second period.
Things might get a little more interesting for the Canadians this long weekend as they face Slovakia on Saturday and Finland on Monday before wrapping up their group slate Tuesday against host Sweden. Stocked with NHL players such as Filip Forsberg, Lucas Raymond and Mika Zibanejad, the Swedes are 4-0 while outscoring their opponents 17-3.
The top four teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals a week from today.
Golf: Five Canadians in the PGA Championship
The second men's major championship of the year teed off this morning at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C. It includes Corey Conners (ranked 21st in the world), Nick Taylor (36th), Mackenzie Hughes (44th), Taylor Pendrith (49th) and Adam Hadwin (92nd), all hoping to become the first Canadian man to win a major since Mike Weir's Masters victory in 2003.
The co-favourites coming in were world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States and No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. McIlroy completed the rare career Grand Slam with his dramatic victory at the Masters last month and has won four PGA Tour events at Quail Hollow. Scheffler, despite being the premier player on Tour over the past three years and an Olympic gold medallist in Paris last summer, is still looking for his first major title outside the friendly confines of Augusta, where he won the Masters in 2022 and '24. Here's the live leaderboard.
If you missed Tuesday's newsletter, here's our primer on the PGA Championship.
Other stuff to watch:
* Canadian Olympic swimmers Sydney Pickrem and Ingrid Wilm are competing in the Mare Nostrum Tour opener in Monaco. Pickrem finished sixth in the women's 200m individual medley last summer in Paris, while Wilm was sixth in the 100m backstroke before taking bronze in that distance at the short-course world championships in December.
* Canada's Derek Gee ranks 29th overall heading into the second week of the Giro D'Italia, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. He finished ninth overall in his Tour de France debut last year and was 22nd in first Giro in 2023.
* In basketball, Canada makes its FIBA 3x3 Women's Series season debut in Amsterdam, where 2024 Olympians Katherine Plouffe and Paige Crozon are playing with Cassandra Brown and Saicha Grant-Allen. Back in March, Plouffe, Crozon and Grant-Allen teamed with Kacie Bosch to win the FIBA 3x3 Champions Cup, beating Olympic silver medallist Spain in the final. You can watch the two-day Amsterdam tournament starting Friday on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Canada plays Ireland at 12:20 p.m. ET and Puerto Rico at 2:20 p.m. ET. Here's the full schedule.
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CBC
37 minutes ago
- CBC
Using 'go' to cheer on sports teams is now OK, says Quebec language watchdog
Quebec's language watchdog has changed its tune on whether it's acceptable to use the word "go" to cheer on sports teams. In a new guideline posted in its online dictionary, the Office québécois de la langue française says that while "allez" is the preferred term, it's now "partially legitimized" to use the English word to show encouragement. The flip-flop comes after the office took a hard line with Montreal's transit agency, pressing it for months in 2024 to scrub the word "go" from the electronic signs on more than 1,000 city buses. The watchdog confirmed it had changed its position after The Canadian Press obtained a series of emails through access to information legislation, revealing it gave the transit agency a green light to use "go" in June. The reversal followed a public outcry on the eve of the Montreal Canadiens' first playoff home game in April, when the Montreal Gazette reported how the transit agency had replaced "Go! Canadiens Go!" with "Allez! Canadiens Allez!" to stay on the watchdog's good side. The revelations prompted French-language Minister Jean-François Roberge to intervene, declaring that the expression "Go Habs Go" is part of Quebec culture, and that any future complaints about the slogan would be dismissed. That statement verged on political interference and placed the watchdog in a difficult position, according to one expert. "The office had to respond to a political order," said Benoît Melançon, emeritus professor of French literature at Université de Montréal. "The minister said, 'You will accept this,' so the office had to find a way to accept it." The transit agency says it hasn't decided whether it will put the word "go" back on its bus displays. On Wednesday, a spokesperson said the agency is now "beginning its reflection on the subject." 'Go' is a 'partially legitimized' word: OQLF In an April statement, Dominique Malack, the president of the language office, agreed that the slogan "Go Habs Go" is anchored in Quebec's history. Still, she went on to say that the word "go" is an Anglicism, and that public bodies have an obligation to use "exemplary" French, which includes using only French words in their signage. Emails released to The Canadian Press show the transit agency asked the watchdog in May, following the uproar, for authorization to start using "go" again. A month later, on June 6, the language office directed transit officials to its new entry for the word "allez" in its online dictionary of terminology, a reference guide for the proper use of French in Quebec. The page notes how the Anglicism "go" has been used in Quebec since at least the 1980s and is "well-established" in common parlance. "It is considered to be partially legitimized," the entry says. When asked by The Canadian Press to comment on the newly released email correspondence, the watchdog confirmed it had updated its position. "The office now considers that a public body can use the interjection go in a context of encouragement without this compromising the duty of exemplarity incumbent upon it under the Charter of the French Language," spokesperson Gilles Payer told The Canadian Press in an email. Payer confirmed the entry was newly published on May 30. "The media coverage of the case concerning the use of the borrowed word 'go' in a sports context led the office to officially assess the acceptability" of the word, he said. Melançon, the French literature professor, said the new rationale — especially the term "partially legitimized" — suggests the office was uneasy with the change. "This must have given rise to some pretty intense internal debates," he said. "'Do we take into account what the minister is telling us or do we not take it into account? If we don't take it into account, what are the consequences? If we do, how do we justify changing our minds?''' At least one transit agency official felt dubious about the original complaint, which related to a bus displaying the words "Go! CF Mtl Go!" in support of Montreal's professional soccer club. She called the issue a "grey zone" in a June 2024 email to colleagues. "We've been using the word 'go' for years without a problem," she wrote. "Are we going to change everything because of one complaint?" But by later that month, the agency had decided to scrap the word, which involved manually updating the display on each of more than 1,000 buses over a period of months. The agency has said no further change will be made before the buses undergo regular maintenance in the fall. The language office has received at least two other complaints about the word "go" in the last five years, according to a response to a separate access-to-information request. In 2023, someone complained about the slogan "Go Habs Go" appearing on an outdoor billboard. That complaint was dismissed because the expression is a trademark. A similar complaint in 2021 targeted the hashtag .GoHabsGo that appears in oversized letters outside the Bell Centre in Montreal, the home arena of the Canadiens. The person who filed the complaint suggested that to comply with Quebec's language rules, the expression "Allez les Habitants allez" should appear alongside the English slogan, in larger letters. "And yes, I'm serious, if the law applies, then apply it!:)" the person wrote. According to the language watchdog, that complaint was resolved following an intervention, though it provided no details. A spokesperson for the hockey team declined to comment.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Raptors mailbag: Masai Ujiri's replacement? Are they a playoff team?
The NBA draft is over, free agency is underway and Summer League tips in less than a week as the page turns to the 2025-26 season. Article content Which means it's a good time for a Raptors and NBA mailbag. Wasn't surprised to see a lot of questions about the departure of Masai Ujiri and his possible successor. Article content Article content Thanks as always for the queries. Here's Part 1: Article content Pierro @Oliaros2: 'Are we, for the foreseeable future, going to be Washington Wizards bad? Or are we going to be in hateful NBA purgatory: too good to get a high lotto pick that pushes the team forward, not good enough to contend for the playoffs.' Article content RW: It's amusing to ponder this in the wake of Masai's exit since he was adamant the middle was no place to be in the NBA (an accurate statement). He was always dead-set against the Raptors lurking there. I believe in the near term the team will indeed be too good to get a high lottery pick (assuming the key players stay healthy), but I'm more optimistic about the playoffs. In the West they'd be near the bottom, but the East stinks, so the play-in is my absolute floor for these Raptors. Only Cleveland, Atlanta, Orlando and New York seem definitively better. That leaves four playoff spots for Boston (no Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday or Kristaps Porzingis), Indiana (no Tyrese Haliburton or Myles Turner), Detroit (weakened by some defections and no longer benefitting from the element of surprise), Philadelphia (if two of Joel Embiid, Paul George or Jared McCain play 60 games apiece, which is far from guaranteed), Milwaukee, and maybe Miami for Toronto to fight it out with. Article content Brooklyn, Charlotte, Washington, Chicago, Miami, weakened Indiana and Detroit seem less talented than these Raptors, but we'll see. Article content Article content Article content Sean @Whispering375: 'Who in your opinion would be the front runner on Masai's job? And if they do hire someone outside of Bobby, don't you think that new person would want a new coach and management?' Article content RW: Ujiri built a very diverse front office complete with a little bit of everything ranging from a jack of all trades with a specialty in the salary cap in Bobby Webster, lots of people with scouting backgrounds, someone who was in media relations (and scouting) in Dan Tolzman, analytics (Keith Boyarsky), and even a former journalist (Luke Winn), amongst others. One thing they don't have is a former agent in a prominent position. That's been the trendy thing in the NBA for a while now (like with Leon Rose in New York). To that end, Bob Myers would be a great candidate, but can't imagine Rogers would meet his price or he'd want to move his family at this point, but you never know. Ideally they'd find an agent-type to work under Webster and maybe even Tolzman, but not sure how likely that is. As you mentioned, it's tough to hire someone above as they usually do want their own people (and I think Webster and Tolzman are more than deserving of showing what they can do in the top two roles. Both are extremely well-regarded league-wide and it would be a shame if Rogers turfed them solely as further cleaning out of the old Ujiri regime. Article content I'm not the only one that's thought a former (or current) agent is most likely to come aboard, but don't know specific candidates. Article content Another idea is a veteran presence in the mix, which was lost when Jeff Weltman went to Orlando years ago. Someone with decades of experience in management as the great Wayne Embry is not a daily presence with the franchise. Article content Or, an out of the box one, what about Steve Nash? (Though that would mean you could shut down all those RJ Barrett trade rumours, since Nash is his godfather). Article content Freeman Igers @freemanigers: 'Do you think Masai's departure is more performance related or compensation?' Article content RW: A little from Column A, a little from Column B, but they're related. From what I've been able to report from sources, Ujiri wasn't keen on Raptors life post-Larry Tanenbaum with Edward Rogers calling all the shots and Rogers wasn't willing to pay Ujiri anything close to what he wanted anyway. So there was no pathway to Ujiri sticking around. If Tanenbaum wasn't on the way out (reports have said Rogers can buy his shares by next summer, they just closed their purchase of Bell's shares this week), there was a good chance Ujiri would stick around a bit longer. But the team's struggles over the last half-decade really soured Rogers on Ujiri at his upper echelons of NBA executives compensation point. Article content Just Win @ 'How much of the current Raptors makeup was Masai and how much is Bobby (who has been GM for years now)? Do you expect significant changes on the court to reflect those differences (what major differences in philosophy might Bobby have)?' Article content RW: Bobby has a different background than Masai, who was always a scout through and through. Webster came up studying and anticipating league trends, helped write a previous CBA, saw how the Magic operated back in the day, etc. It's too early to know how different he will be making the final call. He and Ujiri and Tolzman were aligned on a lot of the prospects they previously liked and the room has always been very inclusive, with opinions solicited from everyone. 'Cross-checking' was a key principle and everyone was encouraged to give their opinions on prospects or trade targets and I wouldn't expect that to change. Article content
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
"Go Habs Go: Quebec language watchdog now says it's OK to use 'go' to support sports teams
MONTREAL — Quebec's language watchdog has changed its tune on whether it's acceptable to use the word 'go' to cheer on sports teams. Article content In a new guideline posted in its online dictionary, the Office quebecois de la langue francaise says that while 'allez' is the preferred term, it's now 'partially legitimized' to use the English word to show encouragement. Article content The flip-flop comes after the office took a hard line with Montreal's transit agency, pressing it for months in 2024 to scrub the word 'go' from the electronic signs on more than 1,000 city buses. Article content The watchdog confirmed it had changed its position after The Canadian Press obtained a series of emails through access to information legislation, revealing it gave the transit agency a green light to use 'go' in June. Article content The reversal followed a public outcry on the eve of the Montreal Canadiens' first playoff home game in April, when the Montreal Gazette reported how the transit agency had replaced 'Go! Canadiens Go!' with 'Allez! Canadiens Allez!' to stay on the watchdog's good side. Article content The revelations prompted French-language Minister Jean-Francois Roberge to intervene, declaring that the expression 'Go Habs Go' is part of Quebec culture, and that any future complaints about the slogan would be dismissed. Article content That statement verged on political interference and placed the watchdog in a difficult position, according to one expert. Article content 'The office had to respond to a political order,' said Benoit Melancon, emeritus professor of French literature at Universite de Montreal. 'The minister said, 'You will accept this,' so the office had to find a way to accept it.' Article content Article content The transit agency says it hasn't decided whether it will put the word 'go' back on its bus displays. On Wednesday, a spokesperson said the agency is now 'beginning its reflection on the subject.' Article content In an April statement, Dominique Malack, the president of the language office, agreed that the slogan 'Go Habs Go' is anchored in Quebec's history. Still, she went on to say that the word 'go' is an anglicism, and that public bodies have an obligation to use 'exemplary' French, which includes using only French words in their signage. Article content Emails released to The Canadian Press show the transit agency asked the watchdog in May, following the uproar, for authorization to start using 'go' again. A month later, on June 6, the language office directed transit officials to its new entry for the word 'allez' in its online dictionary of terminology, a reference guide for the proper use of French in Quebec. Article content The page notes how the anglicism 'go' has been used in Quebec since at least the 1980s and is 'well-established' in common parlance. 'It is considered to be partially legitimized,' the entry says.
